


Denouement

by HorusAdorus



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Goro Lore, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Refernced Experimentation, headcanons abound, no beta we die like okumura, persona 5 royal spoilers, tbh this is mostly shitty exposition but it was fun exposition, the goro and lavenza scene we were missing, yaldabitch is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HorusAdorus/pseuds/HorusAdorus
Summary: Denouement: /deɪˈnuːmɒ̃/nounThe final part of a narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.On the First of February, Goro and Lavenza talk over tea.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Lavenza, Akechi Goro & Loki & Robin Hood
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	Denouement

Over the last few years, Goro’s learned to survive on mixing energy drinks into his coffee and downing them to get enough of an energy boost to finish paperwork, or homework, or his midnight dives into the Metaverse, or all three at once. Other times, he doesn’t dare to sleep, and uses the buzz to stay up late to play on his old, worn DS, hiding under his covers like he did when he was young. That’s all to say Goro likes to stay busy and energized, and even if coffee isn’t quite to his tastes, he’s never had the time to sit down with some tea.  
Now though? Now, he’s stuck in some shithole “ideal” reality, and he’s spent most of it either making solo Mementos runs, or trying (and failing) to not have a breakdown in the apartement he’s been shoved in. Since his arrest, Goro’s out of school, and out of any jobs, and he wonders if that was what that asshole Maruki considered his ‘wish’. Pathetic. He doesn’t need to be on the go constantly, anymore, though, and that’s all to say that he’s somehow found the time to wander through a strange blue door and actually appreciate the tea being served by an equally strange little girl.

“Is it to your liking?” The girl- Lavenza, if he recalls- asks. Goro nods, taking another sip. The tea’s sweeter and fruitier than anything he’s had before, amber in delicate ceramic, but it’s certainly not bad, per say. Across the small table, in her armchair, Lavenza smiles at him over her own tea cup. She’s almost adorably small, dwarfed by the chair, but Goro can sense that she’s extradorinarily powerful.

He’s also pretty sure he’s heard her voice in his dreams when he was 14, and can only guess as to why it stopped.  
A strange silence permeates between them, like it should be comfortable, but Goro feels too awkward, on edge. It’s the first time in a long, long time that he’s existed in quiet like this, and it feels like he’s been given respite from his gnawing anxiety as January rolls into February. Did Lavenza know that he would drift back to his haunts in Kichijoji? She definitely seems like she could read minds, as omniscient as Lavenza seemed during that meeting in the school. He had to accost Ren after that. It wasn’t fun. Goro gets the familiar feeling that fate has lead him here, however, drew his eye to the blue butterfly which led him to a blue door. He’s seen it in his peripheral before, and his inquisitive nature (he’d attribute that to Robin, if he had to guess) was finally satisfied. He leans back in his chair, and lets his gaze sweep across the room once more..   
He remembers Ren mentioning a prison, all stone and metal, but this room here is circular, with black tile. Curtains, blue velvet, obviously, drape over the walls, and Goro gets the feeling that this place is much bigger than it seems. It certainly doesn't get any inspiration points for naming.

“Goro Akechi,” Lavenza suddenly speaks up, drawing his attention back to her as she places her tea cup down with a gentle _clink_. “On behalf of the Velvet Room, I wish to issue an apology.”

“An… apology?” _For what?_ As far as Goro knows, he’s had nothing to do with this place. 

“The duty of the Velvet Room is to provide guidance and services to its guests,” He tries not to frown at the almost mournful tone she takes on. “You too, as a Wild Card, would have eventually signed the contract, had it not been for the God of Control’s interference.”

That golden bastard. Of course, it always came down to him, even this crackpot reality. Goro feels sick. 

“To let a guest of the Velvet Room fall into the clutches of such malevolent forces is a failure like no other.” Lavenza continues on. She pauses for a moment to stand, and bows low. “We can only offer our deepest apologies.”  
Goro bites his tongue. _‘It’s fine’_ or _‘Don’t worry about it’_ or any other form of polite brushing off he’d grown accustomed to simply don’t feel right in his mouth anymore, and he’s not particularly interested in what would happen should he simply roll his eyes. Glancing away from Lavenza, now upright, he focuses instead on the last dregs of tea swirling in his cup, and doesn’t say anything at all.

“That’s only one matter I wanted to talk to you about today, however,” Lavenza sits back in her chair, and Goro meets her steady gaze. Her eyes are yellow, like a Shadow’s, yet they’re warmer than the one’s he’s seen before, gold framed by long silver hair. Somehow, it seems familiar, like something he’s seen in his dreams before. “There is also the manner of the God of Control itself, and your personas.”

_Great._

“I’m well aware that Yalda-”

“Don’t speak that name here!” Lavenza suddenly snaps. The table rattles with the force of which she slams her cup down. Goro thinks he spies it crack. Hmph.

“-That it was what allowed me to awaken my personas.” He feels the pair in question bristle in response. It’s not something they like to dwell on. To his surprise, Lavenza shakes her head.

“While that _thing_ did allow you access to the Metaverse at a young age, your awakening to Robin Hood occurred naturally.” Ah. “Do you recall your awakening to your other persona, Loki?”

Of course he does. How could he forget the day he met his piece of shit father face to face?

\---

_Early May. Goro (he’s still not used to that name) turns 15 in a few weeks. Wakaba-sensei had promised to bring him in a treat, ‘for her favourite lab rat’, she said. Knowing her, he’s not sure if he should be excited or worried._

_They’re running what he’s heard is the lab's greatest experiment today. He’s also heard that a very important visitor will be attending to view the results. For Goro, he’s pretty sure that today’s going to be hell, despite Wakaba’s reassurances that everything will go off without a hitch. In the depths of his soul, Robin buzzes with trepidation._

_It’s a Wednesday, which means that he’s eating curry for lunch, perched on a desk, as Wakaba talks excitedly to who_ totally _isn’t her boyfriend over the phone. She’s just hung up, after thanking the man (again) for today’s lunch, when in walks the biggest living asshole Goro’s bothered to know about. Bald, with horribly tacky glasses, an expensive suit, and 50% of his DNA, Masayoshi Shido fucking_ **_struts_ ** _through the door like he’s god’s gift to man, tailed by a number of men, probably to make himself feel important. Goro jumps to his feet, keeping his face carefully blank of any fury, stands up straight, shoulders back, makes himself look taller, impressionable. If he wants this plan to work, he needs to be memorable after all. Bites his cheek to stop himself murdering the man here and now, or getting himself shot by one of the bodyguards. He can see a tattoo peeking out of one man’s collar, on purpose, he would guess._

 _So he does as he’s told, even as one of the men mishandle several pieces of equipment, even as Shido ignores Wakaba in favour of one of the new male aids, with just a touch of a pretty smile and the confidence of someone who knows their way around the lab. He keeps his hands to himself, for fear that Robin’s golden, blistering heat will burn the place to the ground. Though maybe it’s not a bad idea, he thinks later, as a needle pricks his neck, and he’s plunged headfirst into the Metaverse._ _  
_ _He wants off this ride. It’s so cold, colder than it’s ever been, in the absence of Robin’s warmth. The suppressor is making him woozy, and he stumbles to where the nearest palace leaks into the Greater Mementos Area (as if he’d ever tell them that he can go straight there via the Nav). From there on out it’s… murky._

_He’s cornered by something big, he can’t make out it’s form, vision as blurry as it is. Goro vaguely knows he’s hurting, Robin’s hurting, he feels like he’s breaking apart. ‘Go off without a hitch’ his ass. He’s bloody, broken and exhausted, slumped against a wall as the shadow raises its sword. He was going to die here, wasn’t he? What a joke. Just when he finally, finally, met that scum of the earth and his ticket to that man’s destruction-_

_Something, somewhere, shatters, and Goro collapses in agony and red flames._

_\--_

Goro only realises he’s trembling when that telltale stab of pain through his head and two familiar claws on his shoulders snap him out of his memories. Loki drapes themself over the back of his seat, and their arms curl around him further as Goro twists to look at them. While Robin may be warmth, Loki’s presence has always been a colder heaviness, grounding, like the weighted blanket at his apartment. It takes a few moments, but eventually Goro can breathe easy again, and Loki gives him one last squeeze before returning to the depths of his soul. He turns back to Lavenza, and finds to his surprise, an oddly fond smile on her face.

“It’s rare to see one so well bonded with their personas.”

“Is it now.” So other people didn’t have their personas keep up a running comedy fest every time they tried to work. Lucky them. Lavenza nods, and picks up her teacup to take another sip. To Goro’s surprise, she almost wilts a little, and he sees a shadow flit behind her eyes,

“What happened when you awoke to Loki was… unnatural. I’m sure you’re aware, but people can’t have more than one persona. They can evolve, but humans only contain one shadow, and thus, one persona,” Goro blinks, braces for the bombshell he’s expecting. “The only explanation for your awakenings is that your soul has been split in two, which in turn formed two shadows, and eventually two personas, Robin Hood and Loki. The only thing that could have done that was the God of Control.”

He exhales. Inhales. Clenches his hands, leather gloves creaking. Lavenza looks up to meet his eyes, full of sorrow. 

“It takes considerable strength to survive with a split soul, and even more to control it. Humans do not normally do not have that sort of power.” Her voice is soft, and Goro nearly flinches away from the pitiful tone. “...Especially not children.”

He stares away from her. So. He shouldn’t have even survived, and it was only because some arrogant, supremacist, fucking dickhead picked him as his pawn. If only he had a penny for everytime this happened. Three pennies isn’t a lot, but he presses his lips together as he feels himself start to tremble. He won’t get upset over this, he won’t, he _won’t-_

“When a soul is split, it can be stitched back together but never fully repaired. It will always be painful.” Loki sighs sadly somewhere in his heart. Robin just feels lost. Lavenza’s voice drops to just above a whisper. “I… can speak from experience. When the God of Control took over this place, he split me into the form of two twins and made me, or rather, us, do unspeakable things.”

Oh god, he’s relating to a weird little magic girl, isn’t he. He nods, one god pawn to another, and there’s a beat before Lavenza continues on.  
  
“That vile being was born from the desires of humans. It’s power was so immense so as to even take control of the Velvet Room. It took a Wild Card and made you it’s pawn. And yet you stand here, with a fire still burning in your heart. And yet you are taking a stand against another being who has reached divinity who wishes to change humanity to fit his ideals. You may have done some terrible, terrible things, to your teammates-” Because that’s what they are, aren’t they? “-and the people around you, and yet you still take a stand against injustice. Goro Akechi, you are extraordinarily strong, and had that beast awoken you to your true power,” She laughs, almost guiltily. “I doubt we would have stood a chance.”

He’s still shaking, and his eyes ache. He probably should be more concerned about his _true power_ , but he thinks he has an idea of what it means. He reaches up to wipe away any moisture gathering in the corner of his eyes. Lavenza hops out of her seat, shoes clicking on the stone tile as she rounds the table, and takes his hands in hers. Goro hesitates for a moment, but meets her levelly, bloody crimson to molten gold.

They don’t say anything. Lavenza squeezes his hands, Goro gently squeezes back. He’s never met anyone like her before, but somehow he feels the threads of fate drawing them together, the same way it does with Ren, even faintly with Sumire. _Strength,_ he thinks. Lavenza smiles softly and he knows she feels the same thing.

“The Velvet Room has failed you once before, as a child who desperately needed it’s guidance. But it won’t happen again. When the Metaverse’s connection with the real world is truly broken, we shall be here to give you another opportunity, if that is what you wish.” So she knows. That’s- That’s fine. He detests this false reality with all of his being, but it’s not entirely easy to be his own executioner twice over. He’s not happy with the take-over, and subsequent destruction of Mementos either.

The Metaverse weighs heavy on his whole existence, seeps into his bones, with too sharp teeth and too red eyes- he doesn’t think he could live with that part of his self missing either, once the link is broken. It’s been the closest thing to a permanent home he’s ever had, after all. And it’s weird, because if he’s honest with himself, a rare occurrence in and of itself, he’s terrified of disappearing when all is said and done, but he thinks he’s even more terrified to live without the collective human unconscious thrumming through his being. Hell, with what he knows, Goro’s left sometimes wondering if he’s been left without enough humanity to survive without it. But even now, he can feel the arcane energy of the Velvet Room in his soul, and it’s not entirely the same, but he’s just human enough to adapt. Goro squeezes Lavenza’s hands in confirmation. “I suppose I must thank you, then.”

A clock chimes from somewhere. Goro knows it’s late, and moves to leave. Before he can, however, Lavenza tugs him back to face her one last time, expression bordering stern. Goro kneels to speak to her, and a smile flickers across her face for just a moment. “Take the time you may have left to try and give some closure to those who will need it most,” A hand is on his cheek before he can stop it. “I know you’re not as cold hearted as you try to seem, Goro.”

“I… I will.” He’ll be very busy tomorrow, it seems. Lavenza _beams_ and gives him a brief hug. Robin is delighted, and even Loki’s grumbling seems fond. “I suppose this is goodbye then. Thank you for the tea.”

And with that, he’s standing out in the cold Kichijoji streets, as the night crowd begins to gather. Goro pulls his scarf up to cover his face, and smiles. No matter what may come, he can rest easy knowing he’ll have somewhere, and someone to return to.

**Author's Note:**

> *finger guns* Hello Hello, it's me again !! This is only my second fic and lmao its written differently than the other one so oops.
> 
> This lowkey ooc and stuff but fuck it im just proud i finished this hsjdjs i think the general flow kinda goes off the rails at the end but oh welllllll
> 
> I've made fic for my own art heeeeerreeee: https://horusadorus.tumblr.com/post/617696982445817856/tfw-you-make-fan-art-for-your-own-unfinished-fic


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